Plant Hygienist

About the role

For more than 80 years, our company has been powered by people who are energized by helping the world experience greater health and well-being. The positive impact of our PURELL® hand and surface hygiene solutions is driven by our global community of highly collaborative and talented team members who love to learn, innovate, care for each other, and deliver our Purpose of Saving Lives and Making Life Better. We look for people who are inclusive, results driven, customer-focused, and passionate about impacting the health and well-being of people, businesses, and communities around the world. This role works from our manufacturing and distribution facility in Wooster, Ohio. Role Objective: Prevent contamination risks to OTC drug and cosmetic products through hygienic design, cleaning and sanitization effectiveness, contamination investigations, and risk-based manufacturing controls.

Responsibilities

• Contamination Control: Lead investigations of particulate, foreign material, plant debris, and microbiological contamination events; identify contamination pathways and drive sustainable CAPA.
• Risk Assessment & Continuous Improvement: Perform risk assessments (FMEA/HACCP) on manufacturing processes, equipment, suppliers, cleaning failures, and facility changes; recommend engineering, procedural, and supplier corrective actions.
• Plant Cleanliness & Auditing: Establish site cleanliness standards, performance metrics and conduct routine audits of operations.
• Hygienic Design & Cleanability: Assess new and existing equipment and facility design for contamination risks; review pipe velocities, drainability, dead legs, cleanability, and CIP/COP effectiveness.
• Cleaning & Sanitization Assessment: Evaluate cleaning and sanitization procedures for effectiveness and GMP compliance; review cleaning validation/verification strategies, swab locations, acceptance criteria, and inspection methods.
• Supplier & Material Risk Management: Assess contamination risks from raw materials, packaging, components, and contract manufacturers; support supplier audits and corrective action programs.
• Cross-Functional Influence & Technical Leadership: Influence manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, quality, sanitation, and supplier partners to prioritize contamination control and hygienic design actions; provide subject matter expertise and practical recommendations that guide decision-making, risk reduction, and sustainable corrective actions; build alignment across teams by clearly communicating risks, connecting technical findings to business and compliance impacts, and driving accountability for follow-through; lead cross-functional problem-solving efforts when contamination, cleaning effectiveness, or facility/equipment design concerns require coordinated action.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required in one of the following technical fields: engineering, biology, chemistry, toxicology, pharma, food science.
• Minimum ten (10) years of manufacturing company experience (preferred FDA-regulated) in OTC drug, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food, or medical device.
• Direct contamination investigation experience.

Qualifications

• Preferred experience in hygienic equipment design.
• Preferred experience in supplier quality.
• Preferred experience with FDA inspection.

Skills

Ability to provide technical leadership, build alignment, and influence cross-functional partners without direct reports.

Benefits

• Bonus eligible.
• 401(k) match.
• Parental leave.
• Onsite well‑being care.
• Comprehensive benefits package (details available via company link).

Pay

Expected starting pay: $101,400.00 – $139,500.00 per year; offer depends on experience, technical competencies, and internal equity.

Schedule

Mostly on‑site (80%+ on‑site work). Sporadic overnight travel required between campus locations in Northeast Ohio as needed.